The Guardian Core
by horror101
Summary: This is an 100 theme challenge revolving around Abigail and her guardian core, Wheatley.
1. Introduction

AN-This is inspired by _saphira and shruikan's_ story "The Crimson Loftwing". (I HIGHLY recommend checking it out if you're a Zelda/Skyward Sword fan!) Basically, each of the scientists and test subjects has a "guardian core" that helps them out, plays with them, etc. The guardian cores are based off of the Loftwing's from Skyward Sword. They are granted these guardians by GLaDOS, who _might_ be a bit OOC in this story!

Also, this story is completely AU!

NOTE: Make sure to read the Author's Note that's on top of my profile!

* * *

-The Guardian Core (100 Themes)-

~Chapter I: Introduction~

* * *

At last, the day I've been waiting for for what seems like forever is finally upon me!

What day am I talking about, you ask? Why, none other than the day that I get my Guardian Core!

Every thirteen-year-old, the day after their birthday, has to go to Mistress GLaDOS, the head of the facility (next to Cave Johnson) and she gives us a special Artificial Intelligence called a "core", that are built for specific jobs around Aperture (the place where my parents work so I live here) and for being the life-long friend/guardian of a scientist, helper, test subject, etc.

I'm none of those things. I just live here because this is where my parents work. I _sometimes_ help out, but not regularly. I mostly just visit, hang out (while making sure to stay out of the way), play games, etc. It's boring sometimes, but I actually enjoy my life down here. But I'll tell you this; my life wouldn't be half as interesting if it wasn't for my best friend, Kaitlyn.

She, like me, lives here because her parents work here. She's thirteen years old, the same age as me, and she's also going to get her core today. Coincidentally, we were both born on the same day in the same year! Because of this, people after jokingly remark that we're twins or just tease us about being sisters. It's all in good fun, though, so I don't mind and neither does Kaitlyn.

"Abigail." A soft voice says, interrupting my thoughts. I turn and see my mother standing in the doorway. "Are you ready?"

Surprised, I turn to look at my clock and see that it's officially eight in the morning!

"Whoa!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet. "Sorry, Mom! I didn't notice the time!"

She chuckled softly. "It's quite alright. Now, go and get ready. We have to be in the central AI chamber by nine."

I nodded. "I'll get right to it, Mom!"

She nodded back before leaving, leaving me to get ready. I immediately dashed into the bathroom, got showered, got dressed, brushed my teeth and basically got ready. When I dashed out the door into my family's quarter's living room, I almost knocked my step-dad over!

"Whoa there!" He laughed. "Slow down!"

"Sorry, Patrick!" I always referred to my step-dad as his real name, never "Dad" or its affiliates. "I'm just so excited!"

"And you just can't hide it?" He smiled.

"_YES!"_ I all but shrieked. "Now can we _please_ hurry?"

"Now, now." My mother then came into the room. "You have to eat your breakfast first."

I sighed. "Alright..."

After scarfing down a quick breakfast of pancakes and hash browns, my entire family and I hurried to GLaDOS' chamber. When we arrived, I saw Kaitlyn and her parents, grandparents and little sister there.

"Hey, Abbie!" She greeted when she saw me.

"Hey, Katy-lyn!" I greeted back, calling her by her nickname.

After getting permission by our parents, we went up and began talking to each other.

"What kind of core do you think you'll get Abbie?" She asked me.

I shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe I'll get one with the same IQ I have..."

She playfully shoved me for that. It was no secret that I had an exceptionally high IQ. Cave would often joke about me becoming the next Einstein.

We continued chatting like that for a while before we heard the sound of a computer turning on. And then, Cave's voice boomed over the intercom, "Abigail and Kaitlyn, would you please step into the central AI chamber. Their families, would you kindly stay where you are."

Taking a deep shaky breath, I nodded at Kaitlyn, who in turn nodded at me and we both stepped into the room. Once we were in, a glass door slid behind us. I was expecting it though, so I only looked forward, gulped and followed Kaitlyn until we were in front of GLaDOS.

"So... Abigail and Kaitlyn, is it?" Her monotone voice echoed throughout the chamber suddenly, making us jump slightly. She then turned around in all her mechanical glory, her single yellow optic glowing in the dimly lit room. I sensed she was smiling. "Welcome to the central AI chamber. Are you two ready to meet your guardian core?"

We both nodded eagerly.

She chuckled softly at our reaction. "Well, in that case, let's get started."

A large tube then descended from the ceiling.

"Now, this tube is where you're core will come out of. If you feel a 'connection' with the core that drops out of it, that core is your guardian. Do you understand?"

We both nodded.

"Good. Now let's begin."

A core then dropped out of the core. We waited for three seconds before Kaitlyn shook her head.

"No. It's not this one."

GLaDOS nodded and a claw descended and grabbed the core and brought it up to the ceiling. Soon, another core dropped from the tube, but that wasn't her guardian either. Two more cores later, Kaitlyn finally found her guardian. It was a little core with a red and orange optic.

"Hello, little one. What's your name?" Kaitlyn asked it, interest showing on her face.

The core looked at her for a second before I sensed it grin and it suddenly shouted, "SPAAAAAACE!"

I was taken aback but Kaitlyn just giggled. "Like space, do you?"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

This made Kaitlyn laugh. "You're a cute one! What's his name, GLaDOS?"

"Space Core."

"Aptly named!" She said. "Is it alright if I hold him?"

"Go right ahead."

Kaitlyn gingerly reached out, grabbed Space's handlebars and lifted him up. All the while, he was happily looking around all excited like.

"Well, Space Core, my name is Kaitlyn."

"Kaitlyn, do _you_ like space?"

She shrugged. "I would like to know more about it."

"Me too!"

She laughed again before looking up at GLaDOS. "GLaDOS, I think that I've found my guardian."

"Are you sure about this?"

Kaitlyn firmly nodded. "I'm _positive!"_

GLaDOS nodded back. "Well, in that case, do you want to rename him?"

Kaitlyn looked thoughtful for a minute before she looked up with a smile on her face. "Kyle!"

"So, you want to rename him Kyle?"

"Yep!"

GLaDOS nodded thoughtfully. "Well then, Kaitlyn; Kyle is your official guardian now!"

Kaitlyn smiled in genuine happiness as Cave, Caroline (his assistant and wife), Kaitlyn's family and my family all applauded.

I also applauded. "Congrats Katy!"

She grinned. "Thanks, Abbie!"

"Alright, Miss Abigail, you're turn." I heard Cave's voice boom over the intercom.

I nodded up at the ceiling and stepped forward as GLaDOS immediately dropped a core from the tube.

After about five seconds, I shook my head. GLaDOS nodded and used her claw to grab the core and bring it up to the ceiling. Five cores later and my guardian still hadn't shown up. I was beginning to get worried. Surely my guardian core would have arrived by now? But then, just as I was beginning to think that my guardian wasn't going to show up, a blue opticed British accented core dropped from the tube.

GLaDOS groaned. "Oh _great..."_ She muttered sarcastically. "It's the moron..."

"I'M NOT A MORON!" The core suddenly shouted.

I didn't jump, though. Instead, I slowly walked towards the core, who was busy glaring at GLaDOS and grabbed his handlebars and slowly lifted him up towards my face.

We stared intently at each other for a while when, all of a sudden, a whole _flood_ of emotions came running into my mind; emotions that weren't even mine!

I cleared my throat to get the cores attention before asking, "What's your name?"

"Wheatley."

I smiled. "Pleasure to meet you Wheatley! My name is Abigail! But you can just call me Abbie for short."

He nodded before asking, "Oh, and by the way... You wouldn't happen to be feeling happy right now, would you?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah! But... How'd you know that?"

I sensed him smile. "I can feel it!"

I concentrated on the feeling in my head before asking him, "And you wouldn't happen to be feeling curious right now, would you?"

He nodded. "Yes I am!"

I jumped up in the air out of happiness. "Sweet! You must be my guardian!"

"Now, are you _sure_ he's your guardian?" GLaDOS asked me, a hint of incredulousness in her voice.

I smiled proudly. "Yep!"

I heard her sigh. "Alright then. I hereby pronounce you two official guardians."

Again, applause rang around the chamber as everyone cheered for me. I was now grinning. I probably looked like an idiot but I didn't care! I _finally_ had my own guardian!

GLaDOS sighed again. "I don't understand how someone _so_ dumb could possibly be the guardian of someone _so_ smart!"

Everyone laughed, including me, as Wheatley growled at her. I felt his anger and quickly intervened. "Now, now, Wheatley. Don't take it personally."

He sighed, but calmed down.

"Well, Abigail and Kaitlyn: You have officially found your guardians. Now, I request that you return to your quarters and get to know your guardians." Cave's voice sounded over the intercom.

We both gave the ceiling the thumbs up and I went over to my family.

"Hey little guy." Patrick greeted Wheatley when I approached them. "So, Wheatley's your name, huh?"

"Yep!" Wheatley "grinned" proudly.

"Welcome to the family, honey." My mom greeted him, smiling.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

We all smiled at each other. "Now that this guardian business is settled, let's go home." Patrick said.

* * *

"Well, this is my room!" I said to Wheatley as we entered my room.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Not too shabby, actually! Not overly fancy, but not gross either!"

I laughed. "Thank you! Now, where would like to sleep?"

He looked around for a minute before he saw a pile of pillows in the corner.

"Oh! Oh! Is it alright if I used one of those pillows?"

I went over, searched through the pile until I found the comfiest one and placed him on it. "How's that?"

"Very comfy! I like it!"

"Good. Now, where would you like the pillow to be?"

He looked around again before saying excitedly, "Oh! Can I be next to your bed?"

"Sure!"

I carried him over and placed him down next to it. "This good?"

"Yep!" He cheerfully responded.

I smiled before I suddenly yawned, stretching. "Whoa. I'm really tired all of a sudden!"

I heard him yawn. (Don't ask me how that's possible...) "Yeah, me too. How about we take a nap?"

I nodded sleepily before climbing into my bed.

I had just closed my eyes when Wheatley said, "Um... Normally I'd say 'Good night', but seeing as how it's only the afternoon, I'm just going to say 'Happy napping' instead. So... Happy napping!"

I chuckled softly. "Happy napping... Wheatley..."

Soon, the both of us were fast asleep...

* * *

-To Be Continued-

* * *

Up Next: Abigail and Wheatley have a little "discussion".

Review but no flames!


	2. Love

AN- In this chapter, Abigail and Wheatley have a little "problem" with Wheatley's, er, "love life"... ;)

* * *

-The Guardian Core (100 Themes)-

~Chapter II: Love~

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Wheatley and I got to know each other better. Due to protocol, I was to have the next week off from school so I could become better friends with Wheatley. I was also to report any progress we made to Cave and GLaDOS so they can determine whether or not he was truly meant to be my guardian.

It was on the fifth day after meeting him did he ask me a very... _interesting_ question...

I was in my room at the time, drawing, when he approached me on his management rail and cleared his "throat" to get my attention.

I looked up and smiled when I saw him. "Hello, Wheatley. Can I do something for you?"

He looked around and I could sense his nervousness. "Abigail..." He began.

"Yes?"

He sighed. "It's just that..."

"Go on." I gently urged.

"How can you tell if you like someone?" He suddenly blurted out.

I was a bit taken aback by his question but shrugged and said, "Not entirely sure actually..."

He sighed again. "Alright... Sorry..."

I smiled warmly. "Hey, there's nothing to apologize for. In fact," I snapped my fingers as an idea hit me. "How about we go ask my parents this question?"

He brightened up at this. "That's a great idea!"

"C'mon!"

We then hurried off into the living room, where Mom and Patrick were.

"Hey Mom! Hey Patrick!" I greeted.

"Hey, Abbie!" Patrick greeted back.

My mom waved but I could see the suspicion in her eyes. She knew that whenever I talked to them, ninety percent of the time it was because I wanted something. But before she could ask, I began speaking.

"Wheatley here is wondering how you would know if you like someone."

They both blinked in surprise and looked at each other.

"Well... Erm... W-Why would you want to know that, Wheatley?" Patrick asked.

Wheatley sighed. "Well... I think that... I'm in love with someone..."

All of us looked at him in surprise. "Really?" Patrick exclaimed.

Wheatley nodded.

"Well... Not to be a snoop or anything but... who is it that you're in love with?" Patrick asked.

"Yeah, tell us Wheatley!" I added.

"Go on sweetie, who is it?" My mom also added.

He "gulped". "Okay... But you guys have to _promise_ not to laugh!"

We all nodded.

He took a deep breath. "The person I'm in love with... is GLaDOS..."

True to our word, we didn't laugh, though Patrick and I had some problems _not_ laughing.

"Really now?" My mom asked.

Wheatley sighed. "Yes..."

"But... why?" I asked. "I thought you hated her! She's constantly calling you a moron, making fun of you, etcetera!"

"I know... It's just that... Whenever I'm around her, I get this weird feeling in my, er, 'stomach' and my systems run faster, which makes me hotter and I find it difficult to think or speak properly and... Everything!"

We all nodded.

"Well... When I first met Deanna, I felt like that. My stomach would feel funny and I would also have trouble thinking clearly or speaking properly. It wasn't until a little later when I realized that I was in love with her. So we started dating and the feeling grew until I finally confessed and soon afterwards, we got married." Patrick explained.

Wheatley nodded, having listened intently the entire time. "So, what happened next?"

Patrick shrugged. "Nothing much. Deanna became a scientist here and we moved in. We've been here for six years now."

Wheatley sighed. "I see... I just want to know what to do, that's all!"

"Why don't you just go into her chamber and ask if she wants to do something with you?" I offered.

His optic widened so much I was afraid it would fall out! "Are you kidding me? She'd reject me without a second thought!"

"But you wouldn't know that unless you _tried,_ sweetheart." My mom told him before I had the chance to.

He sighed again. "I'm just so afraid..."

"Well, let's talk about this some more." Patrick said next.

"Good idea!" I exclaimed.

"So, Wheatley, why do you like GLaDOS?" He asked.

"Well... She's sassy, sarcastic, gets things done, is efficient, is pretty... _beautiful_ actually... and she's just so good to everyone... And despite her calling me a moron multiple times, I forgive her for that... Is that normal?"

My mom smiled warmly. "Of course it's normal, sweetie. There's nothing wrong with forgiving someone."

Wheatley did a little chuckle at this. "Of course. It's just that... Would she believe me? That I've forgiven her, I mean?"

We all shrugged. "I don't know." I answered truthfully. "But don't let that get you down. After all, as one of my mottos says: 'Don't let the unknown frighten you!' So you should just ask her! Throw caution to the wind! Be spontaneous, but at the same time careful!"

He nodded and sighed. "Alright... I'll do it... But you have to come with me, Abbie!"

I grinned. "Of course, Wheatley!"

"So when should we g-"

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, I had grabbed him off of his rail and was already running out the door, leaving my parents chuckling.

* * *

I ran the entire way to GLaDOS' chamber, with a panicking Wheatley.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HECK ARE YOU DOING?"

I only smirked. "Bringing you to GLaDOS."

"WHAT? ARE YOU INSANE? I HAVEN'T EVEN PREPARED FOR THIS!"

I just laughed. "That's what I'm for, silly!"

He had continued protesting the entire way to her chamber, but I had continued trying to reassure him that everything was under control. When we finally arrive, he was one _heck_ of a nervous core! I could feel his nervousness as if it were my own!

"Ohmygoodness, ohmygoodness, ohmygoodness! This is crazy! She'll kill me! She'll bloody _kill_ me! I'm totally not prepared! I don't know what to do-"

"Oh hush! I'm here for you!"

He ignored me and continued babbling while I simply went up, explained my purpose of visiting GLaDOS to a security guard and went inside, where we found her inside her chamber like always.

"Hello GLaDOS!" I greeted cheerfully while out of the corner of my eye, Wheatley's optic shrank to a tiny dot out of sheer panic.

"Oh! Hello, Abigail! And... the little moron..."

Poor Wheatley was beginning to shake out of terror! His panic and fear was literally becoming so strong that I had to block him out so I could concentrate!

"Is there something you need?" She asked us.

"Yes. Wheatley here has something to say to you."

"Oh does he now?"

"Yep!" I smiled, resisting the urge to laugh at the totally petrified look on Wheatley's "face".

I set him on the floor, backed away and waited. Whenever Wheatley appeared to start saying something, nothing but a gasping noise came out. This happened for three minutes before GLaDOS finally lost her patience.

"What _is_ it, you little moron? Spit it out already!"

But before I could tell her to be patient and that this was a really big thing for Wheatley, Wheatley _lost_ it...

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

GLaDOS backed away, taken aback, while I just burst out laughing, with Wheatley screaming for the guards to get him out of here.

Before he could attract any attention, I quickly intervened. "Okay, Wheatley! Calm down!"

He quickly began taking quick breaths in an attempt to calm down, and after a minute, he was thinking clearly again.

"I-I'm sorry. I just panicked."

GLaDOS rolled her optic. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Wheatley glared at her before glancing desperately at me.

I sighed, a bit exasperated at this point. "Just tell her!"

He took a deep shaky breath before nodding. "GLaDOS..."

"What is it?" She annoyedly said.

After he "gulped", he suddenly blurted out, "Willyougoonadatewithme?"

It took her a second, but when GLaDOS realized what he had said, she became _clearly_ taken aback!

"Did... Did you just ask me to... go on a date with you...?"

Wheatley nodded, refusing to look her in the optic.

"H-How...? B-But... Why...?"

Wheatley sighed. "You're saying no, aren't you? Oh, I _knew_ you'd say no... Why'd I even bother coming here...?"

He continued lamenting when GLaDOS, who's been trying to get his attention, finally said, "Will you knock it off, moron!"

Wheatley stopped, surprised.

GLaDOS sighed. "I wasn't saying no. You just caught me by surprise, that's all."

"W-Wait... If you're answer _isn't_ no... Then... is it...?"

"I'm not sure..." She answered truthfully. "This is just..." She let out another exasperated sigh. "Why me?"

It was Wheatley's turn to sigh. "I'm not sure either. All I know is that, not too long ago, I started getting these weird feelings towards you..."

"But... _why?_ I mean, I've called you a moron, shown nothing but annoyance and disgust towards you and even tried to have you thrown out of the facility!"

"I know, I know! I just- Wait... You tried to _what?"_

GLaDOS didn't hesitate to say, "Nothing!"

Wheatley narrowed his optic at her before sighing once again. "I've forgiven you for all those things though... Don't ask me to explain why, because I don't know!"

GLaDOS heaved a heavy sigh before looking him straight in the optic and saying...

"Yes."

Wheatley stopped. "W-What did you just say?"

"I said yes... I'll go on a date with you..."

Wheatley practically screamed out of sheer joy.

"You_will?_ Ohmygoodness! Thisisthebestdayofmylife!"

He continued babbling and squealing like a fangirl the entire time before GLaDOS cleared her "throat", interrupting Wheatley's little squee's.

"So, what are we doing?"

He stopped, thought for a moment before his optic lit up. "I know! How about we stargaze?"

GLaDOS made the robot equivalent of a "confused face". "But how? Neither of us is human in case you didn't realize."

Wheatley did a little chuckle, which seemed to annoy GLaDOS. "Silly! We can do it right here!"

"W-We can?"

"Yeah! When your chamber was built, we added a retractable roof. And since your chamber is near the surface, we can wait until nine tonight, retract the roof and stargaze for an hour or so!"

"Is that so?" GLaDOS asked, glaring at the ceiling. If Cave was indeed there, I could totally picture him shrugging sheepishly.

"Yep! So... do you agree?"

GLaDOS sighed. "Fine..."

"Great! So what time should I meet you in here then?"

"Meet me here at nine. No sooner, no later!"

Wheatley "grinned" back.

I suddenly cleared my throat, startling the both of them.

"So, it's settled then! Wheatley, GLaDOS; you two are going on a date!"

Wheatley's optic lit up while GLaDOS sighed.

"I sure hope I don't regret this..." I heard her mutter.

* * *

"See? I told you things would work out!"

Wheatley "smiled" at me. "I didn't doubt you for a second!"

"Oh really?" I smirked.

His "smile" faltered somewhat. "Well..."

I just rolled my eyes.

* * *

At ten o'clock sharp, I ventured into the central AI chamber where GLaDOS and Wheatley were busy staring up at the sky. They weren't saying anything, but the silence wasn't tense as one would expect. In fact, it was almost a _comfortable_ silence!

"Ah! Abbie! We were just finishing up!" Wheatley said, having heard me coming up.

I went over and picked him up, allowing the two of them to say their goodbyes. In fact, Wheatley surprised me when he asked if she would like to go on another date with them! I was even more surprised when she actually said yes!

Walking back to my family's quarters, I looked down at Wheatley and smiled.

"See? I knew everything would work out!"

He only "smiled" back.

* * *

Later that night, I had just gotten into bed and was about to drift off to sleep when I heard Wheatley's small voice say, "Abbie?"

"Mmm?" I tiredly replied.

"Thank you for being there for me today..."

I smiled. "You're welcome."

* * *

-To Be Continued-

* * *

AN- Up next: Abbie and Wheatley have some fun with one of Aperture's latest invention... Heh heh...

Review but NO FLAMES!


	3. Light

AN- This chapter, we follow Abbie and Wheatley as they have a little "adventure" with one of Aperture's latest inventions... *giggles*

* * *

-The Guardian Core (100 Themes)-

~Chapter III: Light~

* * *

"Hey Abbie! Hey Abbie!"

I looked up from my homework to see Wheatley roll in on his management rail.

"Hey Wheatley. What's up?"

"You're not gonna believe this!" He giggled giddily. "Okay, maybe you will, but just work with me!"

"What do I need to work on?" I questioned.

"A little 'assignment' I came up with..."

"Huh?" I was now confused.

"Okay, let me start at the beginning: You know that Aperture's been working on crystalizing light, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, guess what?"

"What?" I was leaning on the edge of my seat now.

"_They succeeded!"_

"No! You mean that...?"

"Oh yes! They finally managed to successfully crystalize light in the shape of a ball!"

My mouth was dropped open and smiling at the same time. "That's awesome! But what's this big 'assignment' you're talking about?"

He chuckled. "We're going to have some fun doing this..."

"Doing _what?"_

He "grinned". "We're going to steal one of these light balls."

My eyes widened. Steal? We were going to _steal_ something?

"B-But Wheatley! Are you sure this is a good idea?"

He chuckled again. "Of course! All we have to do is not get caught!"

"But... But..."

"C'mon Abbie..." I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was pouting.

I sighed. "Alright... But we have to return the ball by the end of the day!"

He "grinned". "Deal!"

* * *

"So, how are we going to do this?"

We were both crouched beside the open door of the lab where I could see scientists hard at work on something.

Wheatley pondered my question for a minute before he whispered, "Oh! I know! How about we use those stacked up chairs to create a distraction?"

I looked in the direction he was and saw a pile of chairs precariously balanced on top of each other.

I nodded. "That'll work."

We snuck over and, after counting to three, knocked the chairs over and ran away to watch what would happen.

Three seconds later, at least ten scientists rushed out of the room. Taking our chance, we rushed into the room, grabbed one of the balls and rushed back out and up the stairs to the next level before they noticed us.

* * *

"Sweet! I can't believe that actually worked! I thought for sure that we would get caught!" Wheatley exclaimed.

"Me too." I added. "Now, let's find out what this baby does..."

I took out the ball and requested that Wheatley turn off the lights. As soon as he did, we were both astonished when the entire ball lit up the entire room, almost as if the lights were still on!

"Cool!" Wheatley cried.

"Agreed!"

We both continued watching it, completely mesmerized when I got an idea.

"Hey Wheatley..."

"Yeah?"

"Since this thing is a ball, why don't we try bouncing it around?"

"Good idea!"

He rolled over to me as I positioned the ball over the floor.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Whenever you are."

I nodded and dropped the ball. And needless to say, we were shocked when it went bouncing all over the room before bouncing back into my hand!

"Whoa!" I exclaimed.

"Agreed!"

I did it again and again it bounced all over the room. We did that several times before I grinned widely.

"This is fun!"

Wheatley nodded.

But when I dropped the ball again, it suddenly bounced into the living room. And before any of us had a chance to react, my mom suddenly opened the door to our quarters... and the ball bounced out of the room.

Wheatley and I exchanged a look of terror before rushing out of my room and after the ball, leaving my bewildered mother behind.

We followed the ball as it bounced all over the facility. We winced each time the ball hit something, each time someone shouted or screamed out of shock or surprise or each time we heard something fall over.

Wherever the ball went, a huge mess followed. Papers were everywhere, people were either on their butts or backs, chairs were knocked over and everything!

The ball continued bouncing all over the facility until it had finally reached the floor where the other light balls were. We watched as the ball went all over the place as people desperately tried to catch it but to no avail. Finally, the ball bounced one last time as it bounced right into the hands... of Cave Johnson...

I heard Wheatley "gulp" as I did the same.

Cave took one look at the ball, the mess and us before demanding, "What's going on here?"

Wheatley and I glanced at each other. I motioned with my head and we were about to leave the room to decide on whether or not we should confess when Cave spotted us.

"Abbie? What are you doing here?"

Wheatley and I took another glance at each other before I sighed and walked over to Cave, guilt all over my face.

Wheatley followed me and when we were both in front of Cave, who was glancing suspiciously at us, we both took one last look at each other before we nodded and we confessed.

"This mess is our fault, sir..."

He raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

And so we spent the next minute explaining everything; us stealing the ball, playing around with it, it getting out of our quarters and causing a huge mess. When we finished, Cave was understandably angry.

"So, let me get this straight... You _stole_ one of Aperture's latest inventions, which we haven't even figured out all of its kinks yet, _played around_ with it, and it got loose and caused a huge mess..."

"Yes sir..."

His eyes were practically ablaze! _**"Do you have any idea what could have happened?"**_ He suddenly shouted, making us wince.

"I-I don't quite follow sir..."

He sighed. "This is one of Aperture's latest inventions, something that we haven't fully figured out yet! And you took it without permission and _played_ with it like it was a _**toy?"**_

Tears were in my eyes now. "Y-Yes, sir..."

"_**You have absolutely no idea just how lucky you are! What if it had been something dangerous? Or it caused more damage than this? Or even if it had KILLED someone? You had no idea how this ball worked! Do you have any idea how foolishly you acted today?"**_

I sniffed. "A-A good idea sir..."

"_**You are to clean up this mess right now! And I want you to go back to your quarters and tell your parents what happened today! Am I understood?"**_

"Y-Yes sir..." I choked out and bowed my head, now crying.

He sighed before lifting my chin up. "I just want you to realize how dangerous what you did today is. You really are very lucky that today's damage wasn't so bad!"

"I'm sorry, sir!" I suddenly cried, hugging him.

Taken by surprise, he didn't react for a second before he hugged me back.

We stayed like that for a few seconds until I heard Wheatley say, "Please don't be mad at her, sir. It was my fault too... I'm the one that suggested that we steal the ball in the first place... So this isn't entirely her fault..."

He nodded. "I understand. I just hope that you learned your lesson."

"We did." We replied in unison.

"Good. Now get going. And remember to tell your parents what happened!"

We both nodded and rushed off to help clean up the mess.

* * *

"Well, today certainly has been a valuable lesson, hasn't it?" I remarked. The messes had been cleaned up and we were grounded for a month with us having to help out around the facility too.

"Yep... Also, I'm _really_ sorry for everything... I never should have suggested that we steal that ball... Maybe everyone is right... Maybe I _am_ a moron..."

"Hey! Don't think like that!"

"But why not? I made a really stupid decision today..."

"So what? We all make stupid decisions now and then! That's what makes us not perfect! And it _certainly_ doesn't mean that we're all morons!"

He sighed. "If you say so..."

It was obvious that I wasn't going to change his mind, so I simply smiled and said, "Well then, let's make a deal: We are never going to steal anything ever again!"

"Agreed!"

* * *

-To Be Continued-

* * *

AN- Up next: Wheatley and Abbie have some fun during a blackout...

Review but no flames!


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